Have you ever itched to go back agency side? Why/why not?

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Kind of wished I was around really talented creatives and people who understand this world and the language.
But also my mental health can’t afford to be a workaholic anymore. Sigh

likehelpful

You can find that inhouse, I work with a TON of super talented folks that impress me daily. What I miss about the agency life is the mix of really talented generalist designers. In my experience, agencies get folks who can throw down a decent visual design, print piece, and maybe a logo. When you move in house folks tend to specialize.

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I work brand side and I will give credit that agencies are more buttoned up and organized when it comes to specific parameters for production. On brand side I frequently experience the “we’re building the plane as we fly it” mantra. which can cause a lot of pivoting and headaches to adjust a concept at various points in the project. When I was at my agencies, the concept stayed relatively the same throughout the production lifecycle. There would maybe be some additional asks and deliverables, but the concept wouldn’t be radically different week to week.

On that level I do miss the agency life because I had a guiding light on the expectation and final output of a piece of creative, and my production partners wouldn’t be having to pivot along with me.

However the work life balance is better on the brand side despite their chaos. And the pay is better, so I’m sticking with Brand for as long as they have me.

likeupliftinghelpful

Spot on. Everything you said. “Building the plane as we fly it” 😂

Also: “test and learn” “fail fast”
And I’m just like…NO I WANT TO GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME?!?

Thanks for sharing the perspective on WLB and pay. So real.

I’m just wondering how I will be bankable at my next job. The work I do is “fine.” (Others may say it’s great but compared to the agency world, it’s def less stellar)
Or are expectations slightly lower going from one brand to the other? Feeling lost/confused.

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Absolutely not. I'm black. Brandside has been waaaaaaaaaay kinder to me than agencyside. My old agencies were good ol boy clubs despite honking the DEI horn hard. Brandside I'm not treated like a token. I feel valued as a human, my company invests a lot into me and my career development. Shit I work with more black and brown folk than any time in my career! Love brandside. Specifically tech.

likeupliftingsmart

The thought comes to mind from time to time. But then I remember how shitty some clients can be and then the fact you have to do the not so glamorous briefs from the not so inspiring brands from time to time to keep the money flowing.

likesmart

True!! Thanks for the reminder 😚

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Sure, some of the perks were nice, the variety of projects were great, the work was creative as heck, but working that many hours and the expectation to be down to party all the time is just not me.

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Financial security reason

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The group am retrying to be part of
Bring -avantages for me and my family -holidays to their camp -child care -insurance -car everything I don’t have to pay as indépendant single mom (in 🇫🇷 FR) it is extremely difficult to survive

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Yes. Having been sold my brand services role as an opportunity to be intrapreneurial (former agency role was partner at a scaled services startup), I have been met with constant resistance and more budget cuts than brand wins. To say it’s deflating is a gross understatement. If I was towards the end of my career, this would have been a great move to slow things down and take pride in the limited successes. But my innerfire isn’t get fed enough and am now in talks to once again return to the c-suite agency side.

likesmarthelpful

Chief Revenue Officer

Having done both a lot over my 20 years of experience, I ultimately have settled on staying on the client side because it was too brutal to constantly see my best work compromised by bad client decisions. It still happens in-house but you have more influence when you're embedded.

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Sometimes I miss the creative people and projects, but then I see the clock, it's 4 pm, I'm already packed to go home, and I forget about it.

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Helllllll no

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I miss the culture of the agency and being around more like minded creative folks but I don’t think I’d ever go back.

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Work life balance and stability are better client side, but I do miss the better creative and diverse accounts on the agency side. Too often I’m surrounded by amateurs that never worked or achieved at an agency that make things so much harder than they need to be to get good work done. It’s tiring to have to educate while you executing.

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Work life balance is what seems to be most attractive side of working on the brand side according to the creative artists we know so it is interesting to read all the great insights here

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